‘Shocked’ Players React To Castillo Firing

Jamar Chaney said the news trickled in through the media. Since it’s the bye week, there was no phone call placed or text sent from the team brass. Just a headline on SportsCenter announcing that Juan Castillo had been fired as defensive coordinator and had been replaced by Todd Bowles.

“I was shocked,” Chaney told Birds 24/7. “Our defense was playing better than it was last year.

“We had some really good games – against the Browns, the Ravens and Giants. The Ravens and Giant are considered some of the best teams in the league.”

The defense had yielded two fourth-quarter leads in as many weeks, however, and Andy Reid deemed the unit was not playing up to its abilities.

“We’re six games into the season and average isn’t good enough,” said Reid. “I know the potential of our team and insist on maximizing it.”

Bowles is highly-regarded among the defensive backs and has the respect of the defense as a whole. The other position players haven’t interacted with Bowles as much as the cornerbacks and safeties have, but the general sense is that he is well thought of in the locker room.

“I talk to him every now and then. I know he is a good defensive mind,” said Chaney. “He has a good background and knows what he’s talking about based on my interactions with him.”

Chaney said that Reid delivered a similar message to the players that he did to the media on Monday: that everyone was being evaluated and changes could be coming. The players were told to spend the bye week evaluating themselves as well.

Here are some players, past and present, reacting to the move.

I am shocked. Truly and utterly shocked. Juan Castillo, as both Eagle and Hawkeye family I wish you the best of luck wherever you land next.

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Myke Lowery

Even they know it should have been Marty

ItsJustDoug

Should have been Marty and Washburn…Wide 9 is a gimmick like the Wildcat not a 3 down system. And the offense is sputtering…

professor619

if the wide 9 is a “gimmick” then please pretty please explain to me how did we get 50 sacks last season in that gimmick? you are right about morningwig being let go but prolly not washburn

bsn

Not to mention the Titans ha a too 10 defense for most of the time that Washburn was there with his wide 9…

Jay Grace

should have been marty

http://twitter.com/ScottJ610 Scott J

Chaney’s comments are pretty much the problem with this team. He thinks everything is ok because they are playing better than last year. Striving for mediocrity is not good enough.

Myke Lowery

Chaney doesn’t even realize he’s been benched for playing so poorly

barry_nic

Yes he screwed up, but he’s a scapegoat nothing more. They still held them to 16 points, and it should be noted that the Eagles offense is almost LAST in the league in points scored. Marty and/or Andy’s inability to adapt to the situation and stubbornness on offense is the reason fans and the media are going nuts. Fire Juan, Bowles is a better choice. But the lackluster offense(that’s right, it can’t score, and turns the ball over way to much) is the big problem with this team. And that won’t change until the season’s over.
Go Eagles.

johnGiam

cut the scape goat crap. How about same damn accountability. 9 defenses in 4th quarter collapses out of 22 games coaching the defense. Do you realize that means that in 40% of the gamnes juan was in charge of the defense, they had the lead in the 4th quarter, and they lost the game? 40%!!!!! scapegoat my ass! Its not juans fault that Marty is calling the plays he is calling on offense, it isnt Juans fault the Oline sucks, it isnt Juans fault that Vick turns the ball over way too much…..But it is Juans fault that his defense gives up the lead 40% of the time he has coached, so anyone saying he shouldnt have been fired is a fool! Defensive schemes, and playcalling are extremely important, and maybe Juan could do that…but the best DefCoord in football, know the pulse of their defense, they have a feel for coaching the defense, they have instincts that tell them when to blitz. How can Juan ever have those instincts if he hasnt coached that side of the ball in 20 years! Lots of improvement need to be made, but you dont make change for the sake of just making a change. Out of all the people that need to be improved or should be replaced, Juan was at the position that they could make the change, because they actually had someone who can step in and take over his job. Its an equation that needs to be balanced, its a ratio of Is the guy that you have doing a good enough job AND JUST s importantly if noit more Do you have someone that can step in at this point in time and do a better job then him?
To bench marty, Andy or doug Peterson would have to take control of the office
To bench Vick, the rookie Foles needs to take over for Vick
To bench Castillo, Bowles would have to takeover
Marty, Vick, Castillo ALL have not done their job well enough. But Juan is the one guy you can fire and have someone you trust, takeover
Firing Juan wont fix EVERYTHING, but finally some Damn ACCOUNTABILITY around here and its great to see!

defroe81

noone is saying he shouldnt have been fired we all say he shouldnt have been hired but to tell me the last two 4th quarter collapses by the D had nothing to do with the offenses inablity to move the ball and all the turnovers is absurd the D looked a hell of a lot better this year than last i cant say the same for the offense which as looked horrible the past 5 years…

johngiam

im not disputing who is more at fault. flat at, he should have never been hired, and since then he hasnt done enough to warrant keeping his job. flat out! we lost accountability around here, and whetrher juan is most at fault is debateable…but what isnt debatebale is that 38% of the time that Juan has coched this defense, it has given away a 4th quarter lead and we lost…and since I believe in the talent on this roster. Thats simply not good enough. Juan is easiest to replace because we have Bowles..if doug peterson was say Jason Garret (when he was a qb coach), you bet your ass Marty would have been fired today to. You cant fire Marty, mid season and bring in someone from outside the organizxation, and you got NO ONE in the organization to replace him TODAY! If Marty keeps this up, he wont be our offensive coordinator next year…but you canbt replace him midseason however i wouldnt be surprise if Reid announces that he will take over playcalling duties before that happens, but marty would retain his title and same gameplanning responsibilities….. Of course Marty should be fired. but who could you replace him with today? doug peterson? zordich lol? washburn? who can you promote to OC that knows this teams current terminology….NO ONE!!!! Not for nothing, I know marty should be fired, but anyone who thinks that Bowles wont do a better job then Juan is a fool. 1 step in the right direction. I would have fired Juan after the soft zone he played to give up the 3rd n 12 to BIG BEN!,I know the offense is just as much to blame if not more…but there is no TODD BOWLES on the offensive side of the ball

johngiam

when exactly did I tell you that the last 2 4th quarter collapses had nothing to do with the offense? please tell me when I said anything like that. If you want my honest oppinion, we lost the lions when Vick went 3 and out in the last eagles possesion of reglation…that still doesnt excuse the stupidity of juan that allowed the lions to march right down field to our goal line. Taking Kenbdricks out who to thjis point has locked down TE all season long, and he has done it in big moments so trhat you can go into a dime, and have Brandon friggin Hughes guard an ancient 15yr veteran at TE who couldnt outrun you..only to have the tightend convert a 17rd reception? Or how about taking Nmandi off calvin, in what was Nmandi game as an eagle…to allow DRC to coverCalvin when he lined up in the slot. Havent we already learned that DRC is one f the best Outside corners in the nfl as well as one of the worst inside corners in the nfl? Or how about the inept blitzing? never disguising ANYTHING? soft zone on 3rd and 12 against Big ben? More importantly, he doesnt command the respect of the defense, and cant possibly outwit his offensive counterpart in a game of nfl chess late in games. how could he, when most of the offensive coordinators he coaches against have been involved in offensive nfl football for DECADES! juan hasnt even coached defensive highschool football since 2 decades ago! hello? Juan shoulod have never been hired, and I would have been down to fix that problem at any time from his hiring til NOW! It wasnt a good idea to hire him, and during NO POINT INB TIME did it ever become a good idea. If you liked the success of the D, be proud that it happened overcoming the mistakes of juan! This move alone will win us the atlanta game. This defense is going to be foaming at the mouth now, and bowles can only do a better job at blitzing. I wouldnt have a probl;em with Bowles being our head coach, so y would I have a problem with him being cordinator. any time you can make a significant upgrade at anything isd a good day!

bsn

Slow down with the whole “last 5 years.” bit. You do realize McNabb’s last year here, he and the offense set team records, right? It didn’t look too bad until last year and this year.

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